Question:
Do I have to quit smoking in order to have this surgery?
— tammy G. (posted on March 25, 2003)
March 25, 2003
Tammy.. you don't HAVE to do anything in life. But many surgeons will ask
you to quit at least for a time before surgery. If you search the library
here under smoking I know you'll find lots more information, much of it
from folks who were asking the exact same question. In the end it is all up
to you and your surgeon to decide what plan will be best for you. Best of
luck in your journey. ~Peace
— Joscelin
March 25, 2003
Hi! I know that my surgeon requires you to not smoke.She is so strict on
that, she even has urine nicotine testing done.Her reasons are for
preventive measures.Quitting smoking can help the lungs to be in better
shape for surgery...reduces chance for pneumonia.Also helps the body to
heal faster.I know another surgeon that won't do the surgery on smokers
because he feels that.... why should he potentially save your life just for
you to possibly die from smoking related diseases.
— jennifer A.
March 25, 2003
When I went in for my consult the Dr said just the day before someones
surgery was canceled because the anestesologist <sp> would not
perform w/out the patient stop smoking for at least 6 wks prior to surger.
GRRRRR...well after 2 weeks of weaning my self off of half a pack a day
(been smoking for 17 years)...I've been smoke free for 72 hours !! lol It's
not easy...I went to the store and almost broke down and bought a pack! I
didn't though--I want this too much. Good luck-if I can do it you can too!
— Robin J.
March 25, 2003
Tammy: My dr asked me if I smoked before I had my WLS and I told him no.
I asked why and he told me that you will not heal as fast on the inside if
I did. Also I dont know if I would want to go through this surgery if I
smoked because after surgery they always checked my O2 levels and had me
breath into a machine to make sure to get your lungs working 100%. Also if
your breathing is not up to normal it could lead to a longer hospital stay,
dont take the chance. This surgery has enough risks so do your self a favor
and quite now. (02/19/2003 down 55lbs)
— tonyskid
March 25, 2003
My doctor will tell you not to come back if you don't quit smoking. With
all the liability they have to incur I don't blame him. Do yourself a
favor QUIT .
— MARSHA D.
March 25, 2003
I know that the doctor in my area will not do the surgery on a smoker
because as others have said it's his right to do the surgery on you or not.
He believes why should he chance your life with the surgery if you cant
even do this for yourself. Also it was told to us in our support meeting
you are a lot more likely to leak if you are a smoker.
— Kevin M.
March 25, 2003
Why would you go through this life-saving surgery just to kill yourself
with cigarettes? QUIT NOW! JR (and yes, I am an ex-smoker - since 1986)
— John Rushton
March 25, 2003
Hi Tammy. No lecture - just the facts. I quit smoking in October 1994.
Had gastric bypass in December 2001. The first time I coughed I thought my
guts had just fallen out on the floor and the pain was beyond description.
The nurses tell me that if you smoke, you breathe shallower and the
coughing is harder and more frequent. I had hernia repair surgery last
week. I took my bariatric pillow with me to the hospital 'cause I knew
what the coughing would do to me. Needless to say - I was glad I had it.
Personally, I'm with JR. Why risk your life to have this surgery and then
continue to smoke? Hardest thing I ever did was quit smoking but if I can
do it, anyone can. Please, for your sake and those who care about you, do
your best to stop now. Take care and best of luck.
— Pam S.
March 25, 2003
Lets not forget the higher chance of blood clots. And now that I have said
that, I can say that I did not quit smoking before surgery (PLEASE NO
BASHING). I turned out just fine, but I was playing with a loaded gun. I
thought that I would be fine. I did the same thing for my plastic surgery
and that was another story. I now have an area in my stomach that is not
healing well (probably due to smoking). I wish I had quit smoking because
now I have to deal with this gunky mess and there is a chance that I will
need an additional surgery to fix the scar in that area. Good Luck and
please try to quit if you can. Sincerely,
Mary Beth
— Beffy W.
March 25, 2003
Smokers get more leaks, thats one great reason to quit according to my
surgeon.
— bob-haller
March 25, 2003
Like another poster said, the WORST feeling in the world, after surgery is
COUGHING!!! Quit now and spare yourself!
Most surgeons do not want to operate on smokers and there are many reasons
why. however, even if you find one that only requires a short smokefree
period, I suggest quitting anyway.
I agree with the sentiment that the worst people to talk to are reformed
whatevers. This is no different. The most vehement answers you will get
will be from exsmokers, including me. As an exsmoker (who smoked for many
years and LOVED it and quit to help my husband who was having physical
problems due to his smoking) of six years I have become very much an
antismoking person even though it was quitting smoking that was the
contributing factor to my obesity.
Even though my quitting led to a weight gain of over 80 lbs that I was
unable to lose before surgery, I am a true and zealous advocate of quitting
smoking. I did it with Nicorette gum. Friends of mine who smoke tell me
that Nicorette is disgusting tasting which always cracks me up since they
are puffing on disgusting cigarettes. I tried cold turkey, the patch and
zyban and while I had pretty good success with zyban,the addition of
nicorette, after I started the zyban, made life so much easier that I quit
the zyban and just relied on the nicorette. Your mileage may vary but it
is doable. I can tell you that I LOVED to smoke and didn't have many
health issues with it (I smoked less than a pack a day) and only quit
because my husband was a 3 pack a day smoker who was coughing his guts up
every morning. I knew he could only quit if the house was smoke free and I
quit for that reason. I didn't WANT to quit (I really loved smoking) and
was feeling mean and resentful for a long time and then got enormously
heavy in the process. Still, I do not regret quitting smoking at all. I
am so much more healthier, happier and the benefits (health, financial,
social) are many. I know it is hard, I had many many attempts before I was
successful, but once you get a motivating factor (like surgery!) you can do
it! Best of luck!
— susanje
March 25, 2003
HEY SWETIE, I KNOW THIS IS A HARD ONE I WAS A PACK AND A HALF A DAY SMOKER
AND TRIED TO QUIT ABOUT SIX WEEKS BEFORE SURGERY. I CUT DOWN TO 2 A DAY AND
DIDN'T HAVE ANY THE FEW DAYS BEFORE SURGERY AND HAVENT HAD ANY PROBLEMS I
AM NOW THREE WEEKS OUT AND AFTER SURGERY YOU ARE SO CAUGHT UP IN GETTING
BETTER YOU FORGET ABOUT IT AND ALSO THE SMELL MADE ME SICK. GOOD LUCK FOR
YOUR HEALTH I DO RECOMMEND QUITTING YOUR RECOVERY WILL GO SO MUCH FASTER
AND YOU HEAL FASTER
— PAULA C.
March 26, 2003
Hi Tammy-- My doc won't do the surgery on smokers either, he requires you
to quit but I don't know the timeline. That said, whether you have the
surgery or not, I would encourage you to quit. My husband is a smoker (has
been for about 15-20 years) and I worry what will develop if he doesn't
stop soon. And what about this: if you stop smoking and save the money that
you used to spend on cigarettes, when you get to goal you will have a ton
of money to spend on a new wardrobe for your new bod!!
— lizinPA
March 26, 2003
Hi , heres my two cents, YES please do this. If you want to breath well,
it's a must. I haven't smoked since 7 yrs and stayed smoke free. when I
woke up after my op I had problems with each breath I took. even days after
op I still couldn't get it together.Oxygen was given 3 times a day. I don't
have no lung problems at all. So Yes stop now and just maybe after op you
won't want to start again. Hugs
— Naes Wls J.
March 26, 2003
Hi there. Quitting smoking was the single most difficult thing I have ever
done in my life. I smoked1 1/2 - 2 packs a day. I used zyban & nicotine
gum. The zyban curbed the addiction & the gum was good for the real
hard times. Anyway~ I have been smoke free for 3 months & it is still
difficult at times, but I am glad I did it.
— Cindy D
March 26, 2003
Hi, I didnt have to stop smoking only for 24hrs. and I cheated and smoked
one the day of sorgery and then used mouth wash. I was fine. 5mths out down
55 lbs.
— Paulette G.
March 26, 2003
Iam not a smoker, and never was one before surgery, but the surgeon that I
had makes you quit before you have surgery ( not sure how many weeks
beforehand, though), and if he finds out that you cheated, he will cancel
your surgery. You will want to quit anyway, for the health reasons of
course, and because after your surgery youre supposed to cough and deep
breathe every so many hours, and that was hard cause I was so sore
afterward, so just think what it would be like for a smoker! Good luck to
you!
— Kris T.
March 26, 2003
I haven't been a smoker for very long, just on and off for about a year
total..but I can tell you when I went into my doctor's office and was
poking around looking at things I found a chart that had a
"Smokers" body on it. I don't know if any of you have ever seen
it, but it shows what it does to our lungs, our head, heart and everything
else in our body. It shows all the diseases you can get (cancer...etc.) It
wouldn't have bothered me so much if I didn't have a dad who has brain and
lung cancer from smoking. Everything on that paper he has. It's scary.
Smoking can cause a lot, but it can also cause our doctor's to call off our
surgery.. and i'm even more scared of that. I'm glad to say that i'm six
months smoke free. I don't ever intend of going back either.
— Laydie K.
March 26, 2003
I started quitting one month before my surgery date and was down to almost
nothing the day of (although I did have a cig on the way to the hospital -
nerves!). The bad thing is that I got pneumonia the day after my surgery -
although they didnt find it until day 4. The doctor thought my lungs were
"cleaning theirselves out" since he thought I had quit totally
one month before. Who's to say if my smoking caused the pneumonia (the
doctor said my left lung most likely partially collapsed during the surgery
- but they didnt see it at the time - imagine that!). I would defintaly
say quit, even if its only for a short time. It can only be to your
benefit. Also, think about waking up and trying to recover and then you
have to go through ciggarete withdrawls at the same time - and cant even
eat to comfort you. Not a pretty picture! Better to go through the
withdrawls before the surgery!
— Jennifer J.
March 26, 2003
My surgeon never told me one way or the other about smoking. BUT when I
went to my pulmonologist he basically said this to me. You have two choices
here, 1. quit smoking now and come through all of this much healthier or 2.
continue to smoke come out of surgery with pneumonia end up on a respirator
and possibly die. That was all he said to me period. I smoked my last
cigaretter prior to visiting him that day. I have not cheated one time and
I have even gone out clubbing with girls and they all smoke and I had no
desire at all. My worst times are habit times like getting in the car or
after eating.. Other then that I am 7 weeks out and 5 weeks out and doing
great.. The only thing about this that bothers me is that I managed to quit
smoking first time around and have not been able to stop feeding my face no
matter what for 10 years GRRRRR... Good luck and quit smoking...
GodSpeed!!! Surgery April 7,2003 Krysti
— Krysti H.
March 26, 2003
My doctor said I had to quit at least one month prior...I quit in January
and my surgery is the end of April. But I have to said that quiting
caffeine (diet coke) was MUCH HARDER! That is about to do me in.
— Dana W.
March 26, 2003
Along with the WLS quitting smoking will be the second best thing you ever
did for yourself....I have been smoke free 2.5 years it was tough but well
worth it.
— Sarah S.
March 27, 2003
Quit smoking for the surgery. You are doing the surgery to better your
health, quit to make the surgery easier. I have read about half of the
posts here but no one has mentioned blood clots. Smoking greatly increases
your risk for blood clots which can lead to pulmonary embolism or a stroke
and even death. My surgery is in May but I quit smoking in January. I am
scared to death of the clots so I wanted to make sure that I did not
increase my risk. No cigarette is worth a blood clot.
— Sara W.
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